A/N: I will admit, I love Stefan and Elena in this story. They are so real and just all about living in the moment. It will be interesting to see them deal with things involving more of a commitment.

Katherine. I adore her too. I would love to spend a day with Nina where she was in character all day. Best. Day. Ever.

Okay, enjoy!

"Elena" he whispered, brushing his nose against hers. She stirred just a little, but made no move to wake up. He smiled and kissed her lips lightly. "We have to get up" he whispered.

She peeked one eye open at him and smiled. "Do we have to?" she asked. Her body was content with staying right there next to him.

Stefan nodded. "The cleaning staff will be here soon" he told her. The last thing he needed was someone walking in on them and it getting back to his brother.

They sat up slowly and she rested her head against his shoulder. "I am so tired" she told him.

"We had quite a night" he said, letting his mind wander back to what they had done – three times.

Elena blushed, though she was smiling at the memory. Never in her life had she done anything like that. "Can we make it out of here?" she asked.

Stefan ran his hand through her hair and kissed the top of her head. "They should have plowed the roads by now" he told her. She nodded her head against him, honestly too tired to move. "Come on" he tried again, whispering against her head.

Elena sighed, forcing herself to move away from him and stand up. Their clothes were hanging, dried, on the backs of chairs and it only took her a minute to get herself dressed. "I need a hot shower and a decent cup of coffee" she yawned. "Are we even opening today, with the weather like it is?" she asked.

Stefan shrugged. "Damon usually will do a later start when the roads are bad. I was thinking of coming back around noon" he told her.

Noon. Elena could do noon. That would give her time to take a nap and to shower. When Stefan had finished dressing, she grabbed his hand in hers so they could walk together. "Are you coming to my place?" Elena asked casually as they passed through the hallways. It didn't even phase her that she might want some time to herself since she spent all night with Stefan.

"I think I might" he smiled, pulling her closer to him. "I'll need to swing by my place and get a change of clothes" he added. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Starving" she answered. "Let's pick something up on the way" she told him, bracing herself as they stepped out into the cold. The snow had stopped, and the roads were plowed for the most part. Still, the city was pretty quiet for it being almost 6 AM.

Stefan wasn't half bad at getting a car out of a snowy parking lot, and Elena seemed fairly at ease while Stefan navigated the snowy and icy roads. They opted for Starbucks, as that was the only place open and not far out of their way. Elena wouldn't complain. Good coffee and a good pastry. It would hold them off until they went back to work.

Elena waited in Stefan's living area as he grabbed a new set of clothes. When he came back, she excused herself to use the bathroom. While she was washing up, she took note of the rather large bathtub behind her. Her thoughts wandered to what it would be like to be in that tub with Stefan, but she quickly forced herself back to the present. One look in the mirror though proved just how ridiculously happy she was.

Which was a strange feeling, being that happy with someone she had only just met. Then again, she was with Gregory for years and still hadn't felt as happy as she was with Stefan. So maybe time really was no indicator for happiness. Maybe it all depended on the person you were with.

When she returned to the living area, Stefan was sitting on the arm of the couch, waiting. "Ready?" he asked.

Elena nodded. "Yeah" she said, watching as he stood and wrapped his arms around her. Stefan kissed her slowly, reminding her that he was happy to be there with her too.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Elena prepared herself for the battle that was sure to break out when Stefan realized there would be no sex the rest of that morning. Elena fully intended on sleeping for the next four hours until she would have to get up and get ready.

But he surprised her, having crawled into bed with her and laying there quietly. "You have an alarm set?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah" Elena answered, laying there quietly next to him too.

"I just realized something" Stefan said. Elena turned her head and looked at him. "I will never be able to sit in a meeting in the conference room without thinking about what we did on that table" he told her, grinning from ear to ear. "Or that wall" he added. Elena rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty proud of what we did in there. We would probably get some kind of reward if there was one."

"You're bragging" Elena reminded him.

Stefan smiled. "Sex like that is worth bragging about" he said, reaching his arms out and pulling her closer to him.

She rested her head against his chest and relaxed into him. "Is that all we are? Great sex?" she asked with a hint of teasing in her voice.

Stefan buried his face into her shoulder, placing light kisses there. "No. We're a pretty sexy team professionally too" he reminded, smiling against her skin.

"Yeah we are" Elena smiled, closing her eyes and preparing for sleep. "Goodnight, Stefan" she whispered.

"Night …" he whispered back, nearly asleep already.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Bonnie giggled, knowing full well that it was way too early to be doing what they were doing. "I love when you come into town" she said, laughing about something. She wasn't really sure what though. Bonnie was lounging in the loveseat, careful not to spill her glass of wine.

"I've missed you soooo soooooooooooooooooo much" Katherine slurred slightly, taking another sip of her glass of wine. "I forgot how much I love getting drunk with you at nine in the morning" she giggled, covering her mouth so she wouldn't be too loud.

"Shhhh" Bonnie whispered. "I don't want Damon to hear us!" she warned, then burst into a fit of giggles again.

"Too late" Damon said, walking into the room, working on his tie. "Katherine" he greeted.

"Come here you" Katherine smiled, practically crawling up the couch towards him.

"Oh, Katherine" he said, sitting down on the couch next to her. She put her arms around him, closing her eyes and sighing. "You had better sober up. You need to come in and meet Elena to further discuss that investment" he reminded her.

"Ugh, Elena" she said with complete disgust.

"Be nice" Damon warned. The last thing he needed was Katherine running Elena off.

"You're such a lucky bitch" Katherine said, directing her statement towards Bonnie and completely changing the subject. "He's got nice elbows" she said, bursting into a laughing fit. She grabbed his left elbow and stroked it for a moment. "I want nice elbows" she pouted, moving away from Damon and reaching for the wine bottle to refill her glass.

Damon got up and took it from her, not wanting her to spill on his carpet. "I think you two are done" he said.

"Daaaaaaamonnnnnn" Katherine whined. "I'm … not … I'm not … drunk" she protested slowly. "I'm … buzzed" she smiled, leaning her head back, throwing her arms up, and closing her eyes.

Damon rolled his eyes before going towards Bonnie. "I'll be home for dinner" he said softly, placing a gentle kiss against her lips. He could taste the red wine on them. "I love you" he said, kissing the top of her head.

"I love you" Bonnie said, giving him a small pout for leaving.

"You know" Katherine stated, pointing at him. "If you stayed home today, and drank with us, we could probably all have drunk sex together" she stated, as seriously as any drunk person could.

Damon knew that Bonnie was definitely drunk because she just laughed at Katherine, rather than getting mad at her for suggesting a threesome. "No more wine" Damon said, kissing Bonnie one last time. "Have fun ladies" he said, taking the wine bottle and disappearing out of the room.

"I love you too, Bonnie" Katherine told her, getting up from the couch and crawling to the loveseat. She got up on it with Bonnie, wrapping her in her arms. "I'm so glad I backed over you with my car in the mall parking lot all those years ago" Katherine smiled. "You've been the greatest friend I've ever had since you got out of the hospital" she added.

Bonnie hugged Katherine back. "I love you too" Bonnie told her. Even if Katherine had nearly broken every bone in her body when her Porsche backed over the top of her. "Just no more putting your lipstick on while you are backing out of a parking spot" Bonnie reminded, then giggled.

"Oh Bon Bon" Katherine said, snuggling even closer to her. "I wish you lived in New York with me" Katherine sighed, closing her eyes.

"Yeah" Bonnie said, pondering the idea. "But I would miss Damon too much" she decided.

Katherine scoffed in her drunken state. "I am SO much better than Damon" she decided.

Bonnie laughed. "I love you both" she stated.

"I love me more than Damon" Katherine giggled.

"Go to sleep Katherine" Bonnie told her, feeling sleepy herself. "On your own couch" she added, pushing Katherine off of the loveseat.

Katherine hit the floor with a thud and giggled some more. "Ouch" she said, curling up on the floor to go to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Elena had to focus really hard on working that day since Stefan couldn't help but send her little reminders about what they had done the night before. Like the sticky note she found on her keyboard when she got back from the bathroom, saying the conference room table was lonely and that they should go and warm it up. Or the e-mail asking if she wanted to try the copier out.

She would catch him grinning at her and all she could do was smile at him. "I'm going to go mail some documents" he said, leaning over her shoulder.

"Thank you" Elena said, taking a moment to turn her head and kiss him gently. She was breaking her own rules as far as being professional in the office went. Then again, they had done unspeakable things all throughout the office earlier, so she figured there was no harm in kissing him.

"Need anything while I'm out?" he asked, running his hands down her arms and giving them a firm squeeze.

"Maybe a peppermint mocha?" she asked.

Stefan smiled, placing a kiss against her neck. "You bet" he told her, reluctantly moving away from her. "Bye" he said, grabbing his coat and leaving the room.

Elena sighed a sigh of relief, knowing that she would have the next 30 minutes to herself without any distractions.

She wasn't that lucky though. "You must be Elena." Elena looked up to find a young woman, about her age, standing against the doorframe. Her arms were crossed as she looked at Elena with amusement.

Elena stood confidently, knowing who this woman was right away. "Miss Pierce, I presume" Elena said, walking halfway to Katherine and then stopping, waiting for her to make an effort to come to her as well.

Katherine smirked, pushing away from the doorframe and walking towards Elena. She took Elena's outstretched hand and shook it, all the while looking Elena up and down. "Call me Katherine" she told Elena.

"Katherine" Elena said, sizing her up some too. She was gorgeous, and Elena could tell right away why Stefan liked Katherine. She was confident, and oozed sex appeal. "You're here to discuss your possible investment with the company?" she asked.

Katherine smirked yet again. "Possible?" Katherine asked. "I am going to invest in Damon and Stefan's company" she informed. "I'm meeting with you out of respect for Stefan. Because he asked me to" she added.

Elena stared Katherine down, not liking her attitude one bit. But she was going to put up with her, because the company could possibly benefit from her money. "Please, have a seat" Elena told her, retreating back to her desk.

Katherine looked around the office a moment before following Elena, taking a seat near her. "I assume Stefan gave you my documents?" she asked.

Elena nodded. "I have reviewed them" Elena said, tilting her head slightly. "I'm curious" Elena began, watching Katherine examine her nails as if she were bored. "At what point did you think I would be okay with you completely screwing the Salvatore's over?" Elena asked.

Katherine dropped her smirk, glaring dangerously at Elena now. "Excuse me?" Katherine asked. "I am quite offended that you would ask me such a thing."

So Elena pulled out the documents Stefan had given her and flipped to the page she wanted. "While your investment of one million dollars is extremely generous" Elena stated. "Your terms are that you receive profits for your investment indefinitely. Therefore, you will earn a significant proportion of the company's revenue over time" she pointed out.

"I'm investing because I want to help Damon and Stefan" Katherine corrected.

Elena smiled. "Then you won't mind putting an end date on this deal" she told her. Katherine again glared at Elena. "My terms, as CFO of the company, are that the contract for your investment is up when you receive your one million dollars back, as well as a 15% profit for kindly letting us borrow your money." That was what Elena considered "helping the Salvatores." It was a fair offer.

"I'd like to discuss this investment with Stefan" Katherine said, standing immediately, clearly not liking Elena calling the shots.

"That won't be necessary" Elena said, standing as well. "He was obviously blinded by your history together." Katherine huffed, clearly frustrated with the woman in front of her. "You're sneaky, Katherine" Elena told her. "But you'll have to try harder" she added.

"We'll see what Stefan has to say about this" Katherine informed her.

Elena tossed Katherine's folder onto the desk for her. "While we're on the topic of Stefan, I'll also ask that you stay the hell away from him" she said, throwing that out there for Katherine.

Katherine stepped closer to Elena, sensing that Elena felt threatened. "If and when I so choose, I could have Stefan back in my arms" she stated confidently. "And he wouldn't even blink an eye about you" she added.

Somehow, Elena kept her cool. "Stefan and I are doing really well together" Elena informed. "I highly doubt he would throw us away for a one-night stand with an ex-girlfriend who only ever thought about herself" Elena said.

"It's okay to feel threatened about me, Elena" Katherine said, smiling at her. "I'll accept your terms for now" she added. "But quite honestly, I've got my eye on more than just this company" she stated. "Tell Stefan I'll be in touch" she smirked.

Elena forced a fake smile, when all she really wanted to do was slap that smile right off of Katherine's face. "Lovely meeting you, Katherine" Elena said forcefully. "I trust that you can see yourself out."

"I'm sure I can" Katherine told her. With one last flip of her hair, she was out the door.

Elena let out a breath she had been holding in. Katherine was worse than she had imagined. The only question was, did Elena mention to Stefan what Katherine was up to?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Elena eagerly knocked on Stefan's door later than night, deciding to give him a surprise visit. He broke out into a smile when he opened the door and saw her. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

Elena wrapped her arms around him as he pulled her into his apartment. "I sleep better when you're next to me" she said.

"I like hearing you say that" Stefan said, holding her close and kissing her. "Have you had dinner yet, because I can make you something" he offered.

"I'm fine" Elena said, turning her head up to look at him. "I kind of had something else in mind" she said. Stefan looked at her curiously. She leaned up on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear. "Bathtub."

Stefan's eyes got wide. "You and me?" he asked for clarification. Elena smiled. "I'll go start the water" he said, nearly running for the bathroom.

Elena laughed, loving that she had that effect on him. She set her bag down and went in search of wine. It would go great with the bathtub.

Elena eventually wandered into the bathroom carrying two glasses of wine. She saw that he had candles lit all around as well as bubbles in the tub. When he dimmed the lights, the flames flickered on the walls. It was incredibly romantic. "How come we haven't done this sooner?" Stefan asked, coming behind Elena and grabbing the hem of her shirt, playing with the idea of taking it off of her.

"Mistake on our part" Elena smiled, putting her hands on top of his. Stefan kissed her cheek slowly, tugging on her shirt. Elena lifted her arms and Stefan slid the shirt up and over her head. Elena turned around and did the same to him, grabbing his shirt and pulling it off of him. She took a moment to admire his chest, running her fingers over every muscle there. Then, she leaned in and placed a kiss against his skin, showing just how much she appreciated his physique.

They took their time undressing one another before slipping into the Jacuzzi tub of his. Stefan got in first and Elena after, leaning against him. They let the warm water take over, relaxing every muscle in their bodies. "This should be a weekly routine" Stefan said against her ear, smiling at the thought of being naked in a bathtub with Elena.

"I think so too" Elena said, feeling Stefan's hands begin to roam over her body beneath the bubbles. She closed her eyes, smiling when she felt his hands on her thighs, rubbing small circles. They moved to her stomach, resting there for a few minutes. All thoughts about her earlier meeting with Katherine were gone.

"I love this" Stefan said softly, kissing her shoulder. They were silent for a moment before he spoke again. "Would it be totally inappropriate to ask you how your meeting with Katherine went?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes" Elena answered, then she smiled. "But I'll tell you anyways, because I was a total badass" she added.

Stefan laughed. "Do tell" he encouraged, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her tight.

"Well" Elena said, cupping some of the bubbles in her hand. "She tried to screw you guys over" Elena announced. "With terms for an indefinite profit on her investment" she explained.

"I was hoping you would see that" Stefan said, kissing her ear playfully. He had caught that after looking more thoroughly over Katherine's documents.

"Oh, I sure did" Elena said, thankful that he really hadn't been blinded by Katherine. "I think she thought I was stupid enough to overlook that. But I set her straight and I think we came to an agreement. Well, meaning she had to agree to what I said" Elena corrected.

"I'm sure she was real happy about that" Stefan grinned.

Elena smiled proudly. "I also set her straight about us" she added. Stefan looked down at her curiously. "Oh, she wants you back" Elena informed him. "And she was pretty sure she could get you back too."

Stefan sighed. "Katherine is used to getting what she wants" he mentioned, grabbing Elena's hands in his. "But this time, she's going to see how crazy I am about you, and that I am happy where I am" he told her. This made Elena smile. "Right" he said, grabbing her chin so he could see her eyes. "Here" he said, smiling at her. "With" he added, moving in towards her. "You" he finished before pressing his lips against hers.